Being a home owner is a great deal. Your home is one of the biggest asset if not the biggest that you have. It is also one of the main reasons why people put it in their Living Trust. In California, real property triggers probate. Probate is the legal procedure your estate goes through after you pass away. During this legal proceeding, a court will start the process of distributing your estate to the proper heirs. If such your property is not funded in a Living trust, they will go to probate court after you die. This means, you beneficiaries or loved ones has to go through Probate proceeding in order to get it. 

One of the main conceptions people have is that having a Trust alone would protect one’s property from probate. However this is not the case, the property  has to properly be transferred or funded into the trust for probate to not apply. This means that you have to release ownership of your home to the Trust. This can be done by drafting a Quitclaim Deed, change of preliminary change of ownership and other necessary documents. All documents have to be signed and notarized (might only apply to the Deed). Such documents have also to be recorded at the County recorders office.

We can help you protect your property from Probate. Please call our office at 760-754-9059 or e-mail us at [email protected] for more information.